Tuxedo Mask: Everything in Shades of Red
by lianarh
Summary: This is a Sailor Moon story, mostly revolving around Darien (Chiba). Raye (Rei) has been having visions of a new, evil arrival, and it has to take place with her Grandpa...and Darien's past. Mild language and violence ensue chapter three and beyond.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters on Sailor Moon.  
  
TUXEDO MASK: EVERYTHING IN SHADES OF RED  
  
A SAILOR MOON STORY  
  
Prologue: A Red Rose  
  
"Darien..." Tetsuya Natsumodo called. "Darien, why didn't you come to my birthday party? You promised you would come."  
  
"I'm sorry, Tetsuya," a nine-year-old Darien answered. "My memory has been fuzzy ever since the accident. I remember waking up to the face of that meatball-headed girl...What was her name?"  
  
Tetsuya paused in the street, and whispered, "Serena."  
  
"Yeah, her. What a ditz," Darien snorted.  
  
"Really?" Tetsuya answered. "I don't know...I thought she was kinda cute."  
  
Darien sighed, wandering slowly up the walkway of the orphanage where he currently lived.  
  
"Darien!" Tetsuya said, chasing after his friend. He stopped, bending over to rest his hands on his knees, his chest heaving loudly.  
  
"Tetsuya, don't run. You'll hurt your chest," Darien scolded, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Take deep breaths...That's it."  
  
"Darien, do that thing you do," Tetsuya requested with a smile as they got inside the building.  
  
Darien got up and stood on a chair nearby.  
  
"Halt! You there! How dare you try to hurt innocent people!" he cried. "I am Tuxedo Mask, and I shall triumph over your evil ways!"  
  
Darien picked a rose out of a vase, tossing it onto the floor.  
  
"Hee, hee!" Tetsuya giggled. "You're funny, Darien!" 


	2. Chapter One: Black is Back

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters on Sailor Moon.  
  
Chapter One: Black is Back  
  
Darien was just woke up, his covers crumpled loosely around his legs.  
  
He sat up, running a hand through his black hair.  
  
Darien slipped off his pajamas, throwing on a t-shirt and faded denim jeans. He glanced at the clock; it was seven-twenty in the morning.   
  
"No point going over to Serena's," he thought aloud, "She'll definitely still be asleep."  
  
Wandering down the sidewalk, Darien let himself through the silver gates of the shrine where Raye, Sailor Mars, lived.  
  
Raye was sweeping the wooded floorboards that made up the front deck, humming a tune in a distant fashion.  
  
"Good morning, starshine," Darien said, relaxing onto the porch swing.  
  
No answer.  
  
"Raye; Earth, or rather Mars, to Raye. What's up?" Darien asked.  
  
"Hm? Oh, it's you," Raye replied.  
  
"You say that like it's a bad thing," the dark haired nineteen-year-old muttered with a frown. "Do you feel something, Raye?" Darien asked, as if reading Raye's mind.  
  
The dark-haired girl abruptly stopped sweeping the floor, her hands shaking on the stick of the broom.  
  
"I've been having more visions in my dreams," Raye murmured. "I fear for Grandpa's safety this time, Darien! Something is coming, and whatever it is, Grandpa has something it wants.  
  
"Grandpa's energy has been depleting. Sometimes, at night, I hear him screaming. Whenever I go into his room to see if he's all right, though, he's sleeping peacefully."  
  
Darien looked off into the distance.  
  
"What do you mean when you say your Grandpa's energy has been 'depleting'?" Darien asked curiously.  
  
"I mean he can barely carry out any of the chores around the shrine--which, as you know, is very rare," Raye answered, sighing in concern. "His hands shake whenever he tries to even just carry a pot of tea into another room! Honestly, Darien, I'm very worried!"  
  
Darien stood up, and, smiling, comfortingly patted Raye's shoulder.  
  
"You'll make it through this," he said. "You and your Grandpa are very strong people. I don't have a doubt in my mind that you two will be okay."  
  
Raye smiled, and answered, "Gee, thanks, Darien."  
  
"Besides, if anything should happen, you'll always have the Scouts backing you up."  
  
"Haa...I guess you're right," Raye sighed, flashing a faint smile. "Darien, I--"  
  
"Darien!" Rini's high-pitched voice called, and her small body bounced into view as she skipped up the walkway, a big grin on her face.  
  
"Hey there, Rini," Darien answered, holding her hand in a Fatherly way. "Is Serena here with you?"  
  
"No way! Serena's still sleeping," Rini giggled. "I came here on my own."  
  
Darien frowned.  
  
"You really shouldn't be walking all the way downtown by yourself, kiddo," he said. "There's a lot of weirdos walking these streets, you know. Why, just yesterday, a man came up to me and asked if I could walk his PUMPKIN for him!"  
  
Rini laughed, and replied, "Liar, you! That never happened. I can tell, because when you lie, you ruffle your hair, and right now your hair's a mess!"  
  
Darien walked Rini back down towards the street, waving to Raye, who was left standing alone, unable to finish her sentence. 


	3. Chapter Two: Waking up Late

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters on Sailor Moon.  
  
Chapter Two: Waking up Late  
  
"AHH! I'm late!" Serena screeched as her cat, Luna, clawed at her face. "Excuse me, Luna? Do you need something?"  
  
"Oh, Serena. Get up!" Luna scolded. "You're really very lucky that this is a weekend; however, did you forget something?"  
  
Serena was rushing around her room, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, fixing her hair, and wrapping her present for Darien all at the same time.  
  
"Furrrr-gght sommm-ting?" Serena said through a mouthful of toothpaste. She went to the sink and spat. "Like what, Luna? Like you said, it's not a weekday, so I don't have to be at school, I don't have to be at Amy's study group...What could I possibly be forgetting?"  
  
Luna sighed, slapping her hand against her face.  
  
"Do you see that gift over there?" The raven-coloured feline hopped up on Serena's desk. "What does this mean to you?"  
  
"It's Darien's gift," Serena answered, shrugging. "I got it for his birthda-AAAY! His birthday!" She skidded over to her calender. "Today is Darien's birthday! Why didn't you tell me, Luna?!"  
  
"I figured I'd try to let you find out on your own," Luna answered lamely. "Obviously, this happened too late. He's probably already waiting for you at the park."  
  
Serena raced down to Rini's room, and pounded on the door.  
  
"Rini! RINI!" Serena squealed in an annoyingly high-pitched voice. "Darn it, Rini, if you don't answer, I'll--"  
  
The door popped open. No one was in there.  
  
"RIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIII!"  
  
"So, do you think we should head over to see Serena? She should be up by now," Darien said as he walked hand-in-hand with Rini down the busy streets of downtown Osaka.  
  
"Nah," Rini said, trying to divert Darien's attention from Serena and have it focused completely on her. "She probably is scarfing down her breakfast in a hurry, thinking it's a weekday." She grinned up at her future Dad. "Wouldn't you rather spend the day with me?"  
  
Darien squeezed her tiny hand.  
  
"If I'm going to keep the both of you as friends, I'm going to have to spend equal amount of time with both of you," he said matter-of-factly. "If I spend all of my time with Serena, I'd never get to see my favourite little future daughter." At this, Rini smiled. "If I spend all of my time with you, Serena would never speak to me again." At this, Rini frowned.  
  
"Why does it always have to be about my meatball head of a Mother?" Rini scowled. "She doesn't even realize it's your birthday! If she did, she'd be up by now."  
  
"Hi, guys!" Serena called cheerily, waving her arms frantically in greeting, a couple feet's distance away. "Rini, I've been worried sick about you!"  
  
"No, you haven't," Rini mumbled with a pout.  
  
Serena wrapped her arms around Darien's neck.  
  
"Happy Birthday, Darien!" she said in a sing-song voice. "You didn't really think I'd forgotten, did you?"  
  
"Of course not, sweetie," Darien said, darting a look at Rini over Serena's shoulder.   
  
"What? I didn't say a thing," Rini said innocently. "Serena, what did you get Darien?"  
  
Serena pulled away from her boyfriend, and took a badly-wrapped gift from her pack.   
  
"Wrapped with love," she cooed, passing the gift on to Darien.  
  
Darien smiled thoughtfully, and gently started unwrapping the lumpy paper. Out dropped a CD full of custom songs Serena chose just for him, and a little locket with pictures of them in the centre.  
  
"Gee, thanks, Serena," Darien said sincerely.  
  
Rini's cheeks flushed from anger. Stealing the spotlight again, eh, Mom? She thought.  
  
"Does my Birthday Boy want a Birthday kiss?" Serena murmured, her lips puckering up in a large fashion.  
  
Darien swallowed, and glanced at Rini, who was making choking sounds.  
  
"Ewww!" Rini gasped as her future Father planted a kiss on Serena's lips.  
  
"Shut up, squirt," Serena sneered at Rini as she turned around. "Keep talking like that, and I'll never bake any dessert for you again!"  
  
After tasting Serena's cooking many a time, Rini was definitely not threatened by this statement. She rather felt relief.  
  
Darien couldn't help but laugh at his girlfriend's pathetic excuse for a threat.  
  
"The same goes to you, Mister, if you don't stop laughing at inappropriate times!" Serena exclaimed, pointing a finger in Darien's face.  
  
Maybe I should keep laughing, then, Darien thought.  
  
He smiled inside. 


	4. Chapter Three: Confessions

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters on Sailor Moon.Also, the title "Confessions" does in no way refer to Usher's new song.   
  
Chapter Three: Confessions  
  
After Darien and Rini had left, Raye continued to distractedly sweep the front porch of the shrine. She stopped when she suddenly realized she'd forgotten to place a fortune on her cherry blossom tree.  
  
Raye took out a piece of paper, folding it over one of the paper-strewn branches of the tree.  
  
"Please keep Grandpa safe," she said softly. She looked thoughtfully up at the sky.  
  
An eerie wind passed through the papers on the branches.  
  
"And Darien."  
  
Raye quickly spun around when she heard the thud of footsteps on the wooden porch. Her Grandpa staggered into the doorway, feebly walking down the steps. She could tell this simple action took great difficulty.  
  
"Grandpa, get back in bed!" Raye scolded, rushing to her Grandpa's side. "Don't make me carry you there." Not that I haven't done that before.  
  
"Raye, I h...haven't raked the leaves. They're everywhere..." Grandpa said.  
  
Raye looked around.  
  
It was summer. There were no leaves.  
  
After a considerate amount of persuasion, Grandpa went back to bed.   
  
The sun's light was now bathed in the moon's darkness, and the crickets were buzzing as Raye made tea, and went to her room to tidy. It had been days since she bathed, days since she'd eaten. She couldn't stop thinking about...  
  
Darien...Why couldn't I tell him? I suppose I tried, but...even if Rini hadn't come along, I couldn't have told him. I didn't have the guts. It didn't start until a few days ago. Is it really worth mentioning? My visions of Grandpa have been frequent, every night since the last full moon. It seems every time I have these visions, he only gets weaker. If I keep having visions of Darien, he'll probably get weaker, too. I...  
  
Raye stopped and looked at what she'd written in her diary.  
  
I don't want to accept the fact that Darien is in more trouble than Grandpa is. But those...those marks...  
  
Raye gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. She remembered a whip, light as a feather, as silver as moonlight itself. It was smooth, but painful, against skin. Darien's skin.   
  
It won't happen. Tonight I'll drink some special brew of tea; it will keep the visions away. I can only hope the visions of the.............don't come true. But if they do, I'm sure the Scouts will know what to do.  
  
Raye capped her pen, and closed her diary. She slid the thin, leather-bound book under her mattress. No one would ever read it. No one could ever know what Raye could see every night as she slept a restless sleep.  
  
CRASH.  
  
Raye's head whirled around. A dark figure's shadow loomed against the paper of the sliding doors. She saw the figure quickly making an escape. She hurriedly got up and followed, chasing the tall figure towards the tree that held the fortunes.  
  
"Hey! You! HEY!" Raye shouted, running bare-foot across the rough surface of grass, sand and dirt.  
  
A piece of glass lay ahead, and Raye didn't see the reflection of it off the moonlight in time.  
  
She gasped in pain, and fell to the surface of dirt beneath her, a small pool of what looked like black liquid in the night darkness laying by her foot on the ground.  
  
Raye bit her lip, her fingers straddling the glass between her fingers. She tore it out quickly, her breathing coming in shallow gasps.  
  
"Damn," she cursed quietly, holding her hand over the stinging injury. "Whoever it was, he got away."  
  
The man watched from a safe, undetected position, staring at the black-haired girl huddled on the ground in pain.  
  
"Foolish girl, coming after me," he muttered. "It's a good thing she didn't catch me. She wouldn't have wanted to."  
  
The man's lips curled up in a smile, and he looked up at the newly full moon.  
  
"I shall appear to you only on a full moon," he said, as though talking to the girl whom his gaze had watched as she wrote in her diary. "I shall never be slain by a Sailor Scout."  
  
He held a mysterious locket in his hand. It opened up, and played a charming love song; no lyrics, just a precious melody.  
  
"Now that I have that Sailor girl's locket, I shall be able to transform into her…I shall fool everyone around her that she knows."  
  
He paused.  
  
"When they least expect it, Tetsuya Natsumodo shall strike against them all. Even my good friend, Darien." 


End file.
